Chapter Text
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEE-
With a single tap on the off button, Mr. Happy silenced his alarm clock. Its neon numbers read 5:30 AM.
There was no sign of daylight out yet. Mr. Happy could barely the outline of everything in his spacious, well-kept room. The bedsheets that he was in were already so comfortable, so relaxing, that he could just skip work and relax for the rest of the day. It would be easier this way, not having to get up and get ready for another day of forced smiles and repressed emotions.
But he knew that Good Morning Dillydale wasn’t going to host itself, right? And Mr. Happy can’t leave his fellow hostess, Miss Sunshine, to host it alone. He knew how much the show meant to her, learning more about the fun things that the citizens of Dillydale do in life. Besides, he also needed the money to pay his bills, too.
Mr. Happy sighed, turning on the lamp next to him. Although it was small, it was enough to illuminate most of the room. He was usually quick about getting ready for the mornings, starting by taking a nice, cold shower and moving on to prepare his own breakfast. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but it was important to at least look like the lovable happy-go-lucky host that everyone knows.
As Mr. Happy sported his iconic yellow tuxedo suit and red bowtie, he looked into his mirror, which provided the additional light he needed to make any quick fixes. His pale blond hair was combed and styled the same as it always was. His outfit appeared as vibrant and spotless as ever. Even the brief sparkle from that grin he forces still lingers.
Mr. Happy checked his wristwatch, which read 6:30 AM. Good, good, he’s right on schedule. The morning light was slowly beginning to shine through the horizon from his window view. Before Mr. Happy left, he searched through his house to make sure he got everything he needed. His phone? Check. His wallet? Check. Mental preparation?…
Eh, Mr. Happy can probably work on that on his way to the studio. As he put on a pair of nice dress shoes, he walked out from his front door and into his car, making sure to lock the doors on the way out. He knew how some people can’t mind their own business.
As Mr. Happy started the car, he checked himself out in the mirror, one more time, making sure that grin can at least still sparkle to the audience. As he pulled out from his driveway and drove off, he passed by the home of his fellow neighbor, Mr. Grumpy.
Mr. Happy didn’t understand why just yet, but now he was thinking about him more than he ever did within the past few years. Mr. Grumpy seemed a bit older than most of the residents in Dillydale, and more reserved as well. However, for someone who avoids social interaction a lot, he gets involved with a lot of events taking place in Dillydale. Why did he attend these activities if he clearly didn’t want to go? It was confusing, but also strangely fascinating.
Mr. Happy snapped out of the thought of Mr. Grumpy and realized he was on the road to the studio. This really shouldn’t be the time to be thinking about your neighbor, Mr. Happy thought to himself, Try and focus on the road!… Well, I suppose a little bit of polka can’t hurt…
The drive to the studio was relatively uneventful. Even if the same five polka songs played on the channel he usually listens to, it still gave him some extra energy for the day. There were flashes of squirrels and wild turkeys that crossed the road sometimes, and he was convinced he saw Mr. Scatterbrain in a deer costume crossing the road for whatever reason, but nothing special happened after that.
Finally, Mr. Happy arrived at the studio. He took a deep breath as he parked his car carefully into his reserved parking spot and walked into the studio, locking his car along the way. As he entered the studio, he saw some of the GMD (Good Morning Dillydale) staff greet him and wave to him.
“What’s up, Mr. Dillydale?”
“Mornin’, Mr. Happy.”
“Good morning, Mr. Happy! Has everything been going wonderfully?”
Mr. Happy simply smiled and greeted everyone in the crew. Although they sometimes act like the paparazzi with how they crowded and greeted him, he really appreciated them and their hard work. In fact, he almost envies them. He may not know what could be going on in their lives, but he can’t help but yearn for a life outside of forcing a grin for the cameras.
Mr. Happy got himself situated in his usual spot before the broadcast started, and simply waited for Miss Sunshine to arrive. He was tired of looking at the same orange room every time he came into the studio, from the stage lights that vibrantly beamed onto the set to camera’s large, dark lens staring into him. At least the chairs were pretty comfortable, so it’s not too bad, right?
Another pair of figures walked through the door, to which Mr. Happy both recognized. One of them was a slender woman with long, braided blonde hair, a joyful smile, and little freckles on her face, who Mr. Happy recognized was Miss Sunshine. The other was a stout, well-kept man with dark, nicely combed hair, small, clean glasses, pale spots that dappled across his brown skin, and a very distinguished mustache, who Mr. Happy recognized was Mr. Fussy. The staff greeted them just the same as he was greeted.
“Hello, Miss Sunshine!”
“‘Sup, Miss Dillydale!”
“Hi! Did you rest well, Miss Sunshine?”
“Hands to yourselves, everyone,” Mr. Fussy reminded everyone, placing a barrier between them and the staff with his arms, “Even if you washed your hands twice, I insist you let Miss Sunshine and I through without any traces of smudged fingerprints?”
Even though the staff kept greeting the hostess and the man escorting her, they managed to keep their distance. Mr. Happy noticed that Miss Sunshine sported a large red bow on the top of her head, matching the smaller red bows that held together her long, blonde braids. Looks like she’s mixing her appearance up a little, so that’s nice.
“Good Morning, Mr. Happy!” Miss Sunshine greeted cheerfully as she took her seat, “How are you today?”
“Why, I’ve been feeling wonderful, Miss Sunshine!” Mr. Happy responded, attempting to sound more prepared and joyful than he did when he woke up, “I couldn’t help but notice that beautiful big bow on the top of your head!”
“Aww, thank you! I thought the big bow might add onto my appearance! You know what they say, three bows are better than two!”
“And right you are, Miss Sunshine! It really suits you.”
“Oh, You’re too kind, Mr. Happy! Thank you!”
“You’ll have enough time to talk on the show as soon as the cameras roll,” Mr. Fussy intervened walking towards Mr. Happy, “Hold still…”
Mr. Fussy carefully scanned Mr. Happy from hair strand to shoe sole, brushing anything off that he believes would taint his appearance. Although the process was annoying, Mr. Happy is aware of Mr. Fussy’s tendencies to make everything look nice and clean, which he could accept about his behavior. He could guess that Miss Sunshine was already scanned and polished by Mr. Fussy, as he turned over to the rest of the staff.
“That’s better! Now everyone get into position!” Mr. Fussy ordered, to which most of the staff did, “The audience will be here soon, and we don’t want this show to be a mess like last time…”
Mr. Happy noticed the subtle growl in Mr. Fussy’s voice as the mustached man concluded his sentence. Is he still not over the time they cooked with Mr. Messy? He brought four aprons when he and Miss Sunshine only brought two, and even then he still felt filthier than anyone else.
“Hey, Mr. Happy?” Miss Sunshine leaned to Mr. Happy’s side to whisper, “Who’s going to be with us today?”
“Hm?” It took a second for Mr. Happy to process what Miss Sunshine said, “Oh, right! I think it might be Miss Fun!” Instead of just checking the date on his phone or wristwatch, Mr. Happy decided he’d turned to Mr. Fussy for confirmation, “Hey, is Miss Fun coming onto the set as our guest?”
“Miss Fun? Yes, yes, she’s our guest for today,” Mr. Fussy muttered, seemingly more focused on the paper on his clipboard, sliding his glove-covered finger across the words, nodding in confirmation. Mr. Happy knew he could count on Mr. Fussy to remain on top of things.
“Ooh, I’m so excited! I can’t wait!” Miss Sunshine exclaimed happily as Mr. Fussy hurried to his position as the rest of the staff did the same. The rest of the doors started opening, inviting in the audience to sit in their respective seats.
Mr. Happy checked his wristwatch to see the time. It was 6:59 AM, before it quickly changed to 7:00 AM as he checked. He immediately put his hand down and forced that grin to the rest of the audience. The lights dimmed on the audience’s side, and red lights started blinking from the cameras behind them. They were live.
“Good Morning Dillydale! I’m Mr. Happy,” The host greeted loudly.
“And I’m Miss Sunshine!” The hostess introduced herself immediately afterwards, almost overlapping Mr. Happy’s greeting.
At least wait until I’m done first! Mr. Happy held his tongue. He knew better than to scold Miss Sunshine on live TV. Instead, he shifted his gaze back to the audience.
“Today, we will be having a special guest over today!” Mr. Happy continued. Was he smiling? Did he sound happy enough? “She’s only been in Dillydale for a few months, and she’s already showing people what it means to have fun!”
“And what fun she is!” Miss Sunshine commented gleefully. The delivery in her voice sounded naturally joyful. Mr. Happy couldn’t help but wonder how the show’s hostess could handle her job with flying colors as she continued, “Everyone, please welcome our special guest, Miss Fun!”
As the audience started clapping, Mr. Happy and Miss Sunshine waited for Miss Fun to make her entrance. However, even as the clapping died out, she didn’t arrive. Mr. Happy and Miss Sunshine both looked around, seeming a bit nervous as to where she was. Did Miss Fun purposefully schedule to be today’s guest only to waste their time? That can’t be the case. It sounds like something Miss Naughty would do.
Before Mr. Happy could open his mouth on the matter, he was startled by an explosion of confetti coming from his left. He saw a tan young woman with curly, dark ginger hair, a cheeky smile, a very asymmetrical outfit, and a blue bowtie holding her hair into a messy ponytail. Where did she get all this confetti from? Mr. Fussy isn’t going to be too happy about this…
“Ooh, I love confetti! Love it, love it, love it!” Miss Sunshine ecstatically squealed, collecting as much of the falling confetti as she could before it landed on the ground.
“What is up, party people?!” Miss Fun greeted at the top of her lungs, which received a few cheers from the audience, “Thanks for inviting me over on Good Morning Dillydale, Mr. Happy and Miss Sunshine!”
“What a wonderful introduction!” Mr. Happy exclaimed as Miss Fun walked over to the guest chair and sat on it. Even he can’t deny that Miss Fun entered the set with a bang, “So Miss Fun, I’ve heard you have a reputation in Dillydale for throwing the most exciting parties! Would you care to tell us more about that?”
“Gladly!” Miss Fun nodded, “Parties are plenty of fun, but what fun is there in a party with no fun at all? That’s why I’m here today to give all of Dillydale a few good tips on how to make your parties just a whole lot more fun!”
“Ooh, that sounds lovely! Go on, Miss Fun,” Miss Sunshine encouraged, her eyes twinkling as they reflect the light of the set.
“One of the most vital aspects to a good party is to make sure everyone has a good time,” Miss Fun began, “If someone isn’t having fun, then they don’t have to stay! Parties were made for everyone to have fun, which brings me to my next point…”
Miss Fun got up from her seat and pulled out two gift bags with balloons tied to them from beneath.
“Gifts!” Miss Fun exclaimed as she walked over to Mr. Happy and Miss Sunshine, “What’s a better way for your guests to remember how fun your parties are with gifts? Here you go, you two!”
Miss Sunshine squealed as she accepted one of the bags started digging through it like how a raccoon digs through trash. She gasped in awe as she pulled out some kind of colorful contraction.
“A bubble machine! You shouldn’t have, Miss Fun!” Miss Sunshine exclaimed happily, “Can I use it now?”
“Of course! That’s for you to keep and use!” Miss Fun winked, letting the hostess turn the bubble machine on and blowing bubbles to the audience watching in awe, “And finally, the most fun aspect of them all is the act of surprise! By decorating and planning your parties differently every time, your guests might not know what to expect next! Speaking of surprises, I’ve left some at the bottom of your bags!”
Surprises, huh? Mr. Happy dug through the bag he received from Miss Fun, pulling out a bubble machine, a decorative journal with a very stylish pen, a pin art toy, and a dog plush and a cat plush with a pack of permanent markers to draw on them. At the bottom of the bag, he saw a glossy, colorful card. As he pulled it out, he began to read it.
You’ve been invited to Miss Fun’s Mega Fun Meetup Party!
Mr. Happy pulled out the card to read it better. Before he could read any of the details, Miss Fun jumped in front of him and Miss Sunshine, pointing to the audience.
“Combine all these aspects, and what do you get?” Miss Fun shouted with excitement, “That’s right, you get Miss Fun’s Mega Fun Meetup Party, and everyone’s invited! It will be located at my house later tonight at 6:30 PM! Food and drinks will be provided, as well as gifts, karaoke, games, and just about everything fun!”
Did she seriously come on to Good Morning Dillydale here to promote her party? Mr. Happy questioned internally. He didn’t think too much of it, though, as Mr. Fussy was already fuming from the distance. Miss Fun backed away, letting Mr. Happy and Miss Sunshine be seen by the audience again.
“Check under your seats for your invitations, and I’ll see you all later tonight!” Miss Fun signed off as she grabbed a small sack from her back pocket and dropped it on the floor, creating a cloud of smoke that causes her to disappear.
The smoke then rises up to the fire detectors, which set them off and sprinkle water all over the set, the audience, the staff, and even the hosts. Mr. Fussy was gesturing to Miss Sunshine and Mr. Happy to cut and conclude the episode.
“Well, that’s all the time we have today,” Mr. Happy sheepishly smiled, “Join us next time, when the set is cleaned from confetti and smoke, on…”
“Good Morning Dillydale!” Miss Sunshine joined in to conclude with Mr. Happy.
After the cameras stopped rolling and the audience dispersed, Mr. Fussy stomped on over. His once neatly combed hair was drenched in water. His once spotless glasses were fogging up. Mr. Happy could see his mustache curl with his mouth in the form of a snarl.
“First Mr. Messy, now Miss Fun?!” Mr. Fussy growled furiously, “Does no one even acknowledge how much hard work and effort was wasted in making the set spotless? How hard is it to not leave teeny tiny specks of confetti scattered across the floor?!”
“Eheh, well, it could always be worse,” Mr. Happy chimed in, attempting to brighten Mr. Fussy’s mood, “At least it’s only water and confetti, and not a bunch of food ingredients flying all over the place!”
Mr. Fussy shot a tense glare at Mr. Happy, which sent a chill down his spine. Did he upset him? Did he see his eye twitch? Was Mr. Happy smiling? He hoped he was smiling. Mr. Happy half expected Mr. Fussy to roar with rage and storm out of the set, but all Mr. Fussy did was let out a frustrated, audible sigh.
“I suppose you’re right, Mr. Happy,” Mr. Fussy grumbled, before facing the staff, “Could we have some clean up around here?”
“Are you coming to Miss Fun’s party with us, Mr. Fussy?” Miss Sunshine simply asked.
“Coming? To Miss Fun’s party? After she leaves a mess in the studio with a bunch of confetti?! After she came onto here just to promote her party? After she caused the sprinklers from the fire detectors to go off?!”
“It was just a simple question, Mr. Fussy,” Mr. Happy intervened, attempting to mediate the situation, “If you don’t want to go, it’s fine! You don’t have to!”
Mr. Fussy opened his mouth to shout more, but then stopped and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, stroking his hair back to its original state before calming down.
“I believe my answer to Miss Sunshine’s question would be a hard no,” Mr. Fussy bluntly stated, “And I suppose you’re going?”
“Well, why not?” Miss Sunshine shrugged casually, “Besides, there’s nothing that I would love more than meeting friends, having fun, and confetti!”
“That’s fine, I suppose,” Mr. Fussy uttered as he rolled his eyes back, “If you want to go to her party, who am I to stop you?…”
Mr. Fussy then walked out of the set, his fists clenched with frustration. Mr. Happy knew that the furious man had an unlucky streak that remained consistent. All Mr. Fussy wanted was for everything in his life to be neat, orderly, and pleasant.
Granted, it was a tall order to ask for, but Mr. Happy can’t help but feel bad for all the times all the effort put into the cleanliness in his life was wasted in seconds. It was just another reminder to Mr. Happy to keep living up to his namesake.
“And what about you, Mr. Happy?” Miss Sunshine’s question snapped Mr. Happy out of his thoughts, “Are you attending the party?”
“You bet I am!” Mr. Happy responded rather quickly. Maybe attending the party would be better than having to face some outside force of karma that’s waiting to strike.
“Yay! I cannot thank you enough, Mr. Happy! This is going to be the most fantastic party just yet!”
“I think you mean fun-tastic, Miss Sunshine.”
It was a corny pun. A horrible, Hargreaves-awful pun, but Miss Sunshine couldn’t contain her laughter as if she’s competing to become the new Miss Giggles.
“Ah, you crack me up, Mr. Happy. Well, I’ll see you later tonight!” Miss Sunshine wrapped up as she exited the studio with her gift bag.
“Likewise, Miss Sunshine! See you there!” Mr. Happy called back to her as she left. He picked up his gift bag full of goods and departed in his own direction from the studio, barely listening to the mumbled conversations that the rest of the staff were having over attending the party.
Mr. Happy really didn’t want to go, and he knows he doesn’t have to if he didn’t want to. However, he knows how much Miss Sunshine loves social events, and even a little bit of familiar company brightens up her day. He promised Miss Sunshine he will attend, and that’s a promise he’s going to keep.
By the time Mr. Happy drove to Miss Fun’s house with Miss Sunshine, the party had already begun. The clock on his wristwatch just hit 6:30, and the lights inside were immediately changing color every two seconds and the beat of whatever song was playing was banging through the walls of her home. Mr. Happy parked his car comfortably on one of the vacant spots by the road.
“I really can’t thank you enough for driving me here, Mr. Happy!” Miss Sunshine gratefully spoke, opening the passenger door to slide out of the car, “It was really sweet and thoughtful of you to offer!”
“It’s just common curtesy, really!” Mr. Happy dismissed modestly, stepping out of the driver’s door after Miss Sunshine exited, “Besides, I know how much these events mean to you.”
Miss Sunshine simply smiled. Whether it was for GMD or otherwise, Miss Sunshine’s expression always felt naturally joyful. It suited her extroverted and kind-hearted personality. She doesn’t seem to struggle living up to her namesake, metaphorically speaking, and thrives on doing it. Mr. Happy wishes he could do the same.
Regardless, the two walked together to the entrance of Miss Fun’s house, opening the door to an explosion of music and flashing lights. The walls and floors were all decorated in the same vibrant and colorful patterns you’d find at a roller rink or at an arcade. It was already bombarded with various men and women dancing, singing, and laughing to their hearts’ content. Within the crowd of people, Mr. Happy can detect Miss Fun through her wild ponytail, to which the party hostess immediately noticed their presence.
“If it isn’t Mr. Dillydale and Miss Dillydale!” Miss Fun loudly greeted the two guests, “I’m just ecstatic to see you two here at the party!”
“Hello, Miss Fun!” Miss Sunshine raised her voice gleefully over the blaring music, “I see the party must’ve started early!”
“You can never set up a party too early! Oh, and did I mention how adorable you look with that new bow on your head?”
“Aw, thank you! I wanted to do something different with my hair, and I’m so glad you like it!”
“Of course! Oh my Hargreaves, tell me everything that’s been going on in life and on your mind!” Miss Fun pulled Miss Sunshine over to a clique of women having an active conversation with each other. Mr. Happy watched as Miss Sunshine entertains the rest of the women with an outlandish story about traveling the world with an angry red horse.
Well, sounds like Miss Sunshine already got herself situated, Mr. Happy thought as much as he could. He was happy that she was already having the time of her life at the party, but maybe he should do something else instead of just watching his friend talk to other guests. It would be too awkward.
Mr. Happy strolled through the house, looking for stuff to do. He was startled by Mr. Noisy shouting at the top of his lungs as he passed through him in the hallway, only for the tall, tan man to burst out laughing immediately afterwards. Shortly after, he bumped into Mr. Messy, who was sloppily eating pizza around the house. His suit jacket was stained with Pizza now.
“Oh, sorry about that, Mr. Happy!” Mr. Messy apologized, “Here, let me get that for you!”
Mr. Messy tried to get the pizza stain off of the jacket, but he was only making it worse by spreading more sauce, cheese, and grease onto it until nearly half of the suit was red.
“I’m fine, really!” Mr. Happy grabbed Mr. Messy’s wrist and pulled it away, “Thank you, though!”
“Of course, of course!” Mr. Messy nodded, “Are you having a good time at the party so far?”
“Ahaha, well, I may have just got here, but it sure is a wonderful experience so far!”
“That’s great! Oh, and if you ever crave the taste of pizza, there’s plenty of it in the kitchen! Help yourself to a nice, cheesy slice!”
“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks!” Mr. Happy acknowledged with a fake grin as Mr. Messy passed him. Mr. Happy took his suit jacket off and carried it beside him. If he knew the party was going to stain his outfit, he would’ve brought something much more casual. He probably should’ve known, judging from how casual Miss Fun dresses.
Regardless, Mr. Happy decided to go into the kitchen. While some of the guests were occupied with talking amongst each other, other guests were busy eating the pizza and chips provided on the kitchen counter. Mr. Happy wasn’t really hungry, but was there anything to drink?
He skimmed all the drinks that were offered at the party, ranging from water to soda to… Wine?
It had been a while since Mr. Happy had wine. He wasn’t much of an alcoholic, but it can’t hurt during social situations, can it? Besides, he was a responsible drinker.
Mr. Happy placed one hand on one of the bottles, lifting it up slowly and carefully to him. No, no, he really should get something healthier. Why destroy your liver when water’s already provided? He just noticed there was fruit punch and apple juice offered too, he could’ve gotten something that tasted much sweeter, too. He checked his watch for the time again. It was 6:34, on a Friday no less.
At this point, Mr. Happy stopped thinking too much about it. It’s not like he had to work overtime this Saturday or Sunday, either, and it’s a party after all. It wouldn’t hurt to live a little, right?
Mr. Happy grabbed a glass to pour the wine. He swished it around and took a sip. The taste of grape and alcohol was strong and tart, causing Mr. Happy to jump just a little bit. He felt much more relaxed, now.
What harm could another drink do? It’s not like he was doing this every day.
Eh, he could probably feel better than he already did. Third times a charm.
…Maybe one more, he can handle it…
…And another, and another, and another…
…Before he knew it, Mr. Happy’s vision obscured. He could barely see or remember anything…
…Suddenly, everything around him was a blur...